High (Natural) Sugar fruit juices

[RbSX]

Hi guys,

Because I'm not able to shove enough carbs down my throat I often resort to fresh squeezed apple/orange/fruit mixture juices, where most of the carbs are in the way of Natural Sugars.

Is this good, or bad?

I've heard that refined sugar diets inhibit muscle growth, but since this is natural.. am I in the clear?

 

[KoolDrew]

For the most part, it's really not going to make a difference. It's all about quantity. You could eat an all jelly bean diet and still lose weight if your in a calorie deficit. It would be a retarded way to lose weight, but you get my point. Outside of getting your EFA's (in the form of fish oils), sufficient protein (AT LEAST 1g per pound), and calories where they need to be for your goal (10-20% below/above maintenance), everything else will have a negligible impact with the exception of the extremely lean getting leaner (bodybuilders) or the extremely obese.

As long as the natural sugar doesn't bring you over your calorie goal or force you to not get the necessary EFA's and protein, then it's really not going to make much of a difference. Just find foods that make it easy to meet these requirements.

 

[nervegrind3r]

Though they are natural, I would keep some limit as to how much you drink per day. I personally wouldnt have more than 2-3 servings of juice daily. Its still sugar.

On a side note, I always found drinking the juice of fruit made me hungrier, plus its easier to consume more calories that way without even thinking about it. I definitely would eat the whole fruit instead, including skin. Some fruits are also better than others. I tend to eat more berries (straw, blue, black) than I do something like oranges, pineapple or watermelon since they have more fiber, antioxidants, less calories per serving, and lower gi effect.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
For the most part, it's really not going to make a difference. It's all about quantity. You could eat an all jelly bean diet and still lose weight if your in a calorie deficit. It would be a retarded way to lose weight, but you get my point. Outside of getting your EFA's (in the form of fish oils), sufficient protein (AT LEAST 1g per pound), and calories where they need to be for your goal (10-20% below/above maintenance), everything else will have a negligible impact with the exception of the extremely lean getting leaner (bodybuilders) or the extremely obese.

As long as the natural sugar doesn't bring you over your calorie goal or force you to not get the necessary EFA's and protein, then it's really not going to make much of a difference. Just find foods that make it easy to meet these requirements.

I'm not really worried about exceeding my calorie goal as right now I'm mass building, not cutting. I've actually gone over my goal by 600 cals or so the last two days but thats because I've become ridiculously hungry after working out.

 

[KoolDrew]

I'm not really worried about exceeding my calorie goal as right now I'm mass building, not cutting. I've actually gone over my goal by 600 cals or so the last two days but thats because I've become ridiculously hungry after working out.

Then don't really worry about it as long as your routine is solid, protein is sufficient, and you are gaining weight. Just don't gain weight too rapidly or you may encounter more fat gain than you'd like.

 

[blackangst1]

KoolDrew: This is sig worthy!

"You could eat an all jelly bean diet and still lose weight if your in a calorie deficit"

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

I'm not really worried about exceeding my calorie goal as right now I'm mass building, not cutting. I've actually gone over my goal by 600 cals or so the last two days but thats because I've become ridiculously hungry after working out.

Then don't really worry about it as long as your routine is solid, protein is sufficient, and you are gaining weight. Just don't gain weight too rapidly or you may encounter more fat gain than you'd like.

Not really worried about fat gain either, I'm running a 50/25/25 split 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% fats (which usually ends up being closer to 20 and proteins usually are around 30)

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: blackangst1
KoolDrew: This is sig worthy!

"You could eat an all jelly bean diet and still lose weight if your in a calorie deficit"

To be fair, I stole that line from Lyle McDonald. He said something along those lines in his "Is a Calorie a Calorie?" article.

That line just kind of stuck since it's a perfect example of how calories is the ultimate factor in weight loss/gain. It wouldn't be a good idea (hunger being an issue as well as muscle tissue breakdown from lack of protein), but you'd still lose weight.

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: RyanSengara

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

I'm not really worried about exceeding my calorie goal as right now I'm mass building, not cutting. I've actually gone over my goal by 600 cals or so the last two days but thats because I've become ridiculously hungry after working out.

Then don't really worry about it as long as your routine is solid, protein is sufficient, and you are gaining weight. Just don't gain weight too rapidly or you may encounter more fat gain than you'd like.

Not really worried about fat gain either, I'm running a 50/25/25 split 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% fats (which usually ends up being closer to 20 and proteins usually are around 30)

Don't setup your whole diet based on percentages. Base protein on bodyweight (aim for 1g/lb), fat about 20-25% total calories, and fill the rest with carbs. The reason is, depending on calories, 25% may be enough or could be too little protein.

How many calories are you aiming for in a day? What about grams of protein, fat, and carbohydrates? Also, no matter how your macronutrients are setup, too large of a surplus will cause excessive fat gain.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Originally posted by: RyanSengara

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

I'm not really worried about exceeding my calorie goal as right now I'm mass building, not cutting. I've actually gone over my goal by 600 cals or so the last two days but thats because I've become ridiculously hungry after working out.

Then don't really worry about it as long as your routine is solid, protein is sufficient, and you are gaining weight. Just don't gain weight too rapidly or you may encounter more fat gain than you'd like.

Not really worried about fat gain either, I'm running a 50/25/25 split 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% fats (which usually ends up being closer to 20 and proteins usually are around 30)

Don't setup your whole diet based on percentages. Base protein on bodyweight (aim for 1g/lb), fat about 20-25% total calories, and fill the rest with carbs. The reason is, depending on calories, 25% may be enough or could be too little protein.

How many calories are you aiming for in a day? What about grams of protein, fat, and carbohydrates? Also, no matter how your macronutrients are setup, too large of a surplus will cause excessive fat gain.

I'm aiming for about 3800-4000 cals per day, which yesterday broke down into

507 grams of carbs
320 grams of proteins
113 grams of fats

which accumulated into 4300 cals.

with my lifestyle habits I burn 3500 cals per day by breathing/walking/working, and the rest i work off by either running/working out which i do almost every day

 

[KoolDrew]

That's definitely more than enough. Just make sure to monitor weight gain and adjust calories as needed. Also, don't feel like you need to meet certain percentages of nutrients. As long as you meet your protein goal, are consuming enough carbohydrates to perform well in your training and you are in a calorie surplus it's not going to really matter much. As long as your training isn't completely retarded.

Anyways, good luck with your goals.